Surge in foreign tourists’ number

KATHMANDU: The country has witnessed a significant surge in the number of foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2024, with the total of 940,732 foreign tourists over the first 10 months of the current fiscal year 2024/25.

According to the statistics of Nepal Tourism Board, altogether 124,393 tourists arrived in Nepal in last October alone, marking a 6.4 per cent increase compared to the same month last fiscal year when 117,306 tourists had visited.

Likewise, Nepal received 134,096 foreign tourists in the corresponding month of fiscal year 2019/20 (prior to COVID-19 pandemic).

The Board shared that the rise in the tourists’ number reflects the trend of recovery in country’s tourism sector after the pandemic.

Board’s Director Maniraj Lamichhane expressed satisfaction over overall arrival of the foreign tourists. Tourist arrival seems positive, he remarked.

“The anticipated number of tourists was adversely affected by the torrential rainfall on Sept 27, 28 and 29 and subsequent disasters. Yet, we expect an increase within the next two months,” Lamichhane hoped.

Although the number of foreign tourists entering Nepal soared quantitatively, the numbers of tourists from neighbouring India and China has decreased in the recent months.

Indian tourists’ number declined by 13 per cent in October as compared to September this year. This October recorded 16, 313 Indian tourists visiting Nepal against 22,984 in last September. A similar trend was recorded in the arrival of Indian tourists in August with 25,832, the Board said.

The number of tourists from China has also dropped in the recent month, with 7,750 tourists visiting Nepal, down from 8,042 in last September and 6,614 in last August.

The decrease in the arrival of tourists from these two countries is attributed to the unprecedented monsoon-induced disasters in the country.

The country, however, reported a notable increase in the number of American tourists. Their arrival in last October rose by 12.88 per cent compared to the previous month. In October, 16,023 American tourists came to Nepal while 10,084 visited in last September.

Similarly, 8019 tourists arrived from the UK, 6,929 from Australia, 6,018 from Germany and 5,485 from France, 4,476 from Bangladesh, 3,112 from Sri Lanka and 2,635 from Italy visited Nepal in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year.

In 2024, March reported the highest number of tourists at 128,167 while July saw the lowest at 64,599, according to the Board.